Vallejo Admirals baseball team working on on-the-field details

There is no time limit in a baseball game. The contest could last nine or 15 innings and could speed by in 2 hours, 30 minutes or persist for 5-plus hours.

Unfortunately for Redwood Sports and Entertainment, the Vallejo Admirals don't have an unprecedented amount of time. The company has plenty to do before the Admirals are

scheduled to open their first professional season on June 11.

General manager Mike Shapiro admitted the number of details that need to be crossed off is "a daunting task."

"We are basically working on three fronts -- working with the city on the lease of the ballpark, then there is the business side of things and the product on the field," said Shapiro, a former vice president and general counsel for the San Francisco Giants.

The first task is scheduled to be finalized on Thursday at the Greater Vallejo Recreation District meeting.

GVRD General Manager Shane McAffee said that the lease agreement is in good shape and he doesn't forsee any potential road blocks.

McAffee said the City of Vallejo would have to sign off on the lease agreement as well.

"The terms have essentially all been agreed upon," McAffee said. "We are just waiting for our attorney to send it back to us, but I don't see why at this point it wouldn't be approved."

Shapiro said selling sponsorships will be a hefty one since many businesses have already set up their budgets for the 2013 calendar year. He said he hopes to target not only Vallejo but the surrounding towns like Benicia and American Canyon as well.

"We consider that to be one large market," Shapiro said. "We know American Canyon and Benicia are different than Vallejo but as a market, that whole area is a territory we are going to target."

Shapiro said Wilson Park is in "dire need of upgrading," and that includes the actual field itself as well as a new paint job and other repairs. He is hoping that the city of Vallejo and people in the community will be able to help on some of those areas, even if it means trading services for say a sign in the outfield.

"We want to strike a reasonable balance with the city," Shapiro said in regards to Wilson Park. "We are not asking the city to stress its already strained resources or to ask the city to completely renovate the park."

Shapiro hopes to have a field manager in place by the end of the month. He has interviewed several candidates and that person will be largely responsible for finding and signing players to contracts.

"We are looking for a manager with knowledge of independent professional baseball," Shapiro said. "We want someone who knows who to talk to about finding potential players."

The team held a tryout in January and identified several potential players. Shapiro said they would like to hold a second tryout in March or April to follow up on some of those players and find a few new ones. He said that players from the Sonoma County Grapes could end up on the Admirals' roster too. The Grapes will not be in operation this year but are expected to return in 2014.

"Timing is absolutely critical," he said. "Basically, it becomes a bit of a talent beauty contest."

Once players are signed, Shapiro wants to get them to mingle in the community, going to places like hospitals, senior centers and Little League games.

Shapiro hopes to have a team web site up in a matter of weeks and the organization is looking for office space in Vallejo. Right now, the team is operating through the Pacifics' office in San Rafael. Redwood Sports and Entertainment will own both the Pacifics and Admirals for the 2013 season.

That will mean double duty for employees like Shapiro.

"It is going to be really hard; that's why I don't sleep at night," Shapiro chuckled. "It's a daunting task because of how late we've started to get the Admirals launched."

Reach Matt O'Donnell at modonnell@timesheraldonline.com or (707) 553-6822. Follow him on Twitter @modonnellvth.